Active Server Pages Primer

This book takes an in-depth look at the ASP concept and how to make the most of it. You will go step-by-step through creating entire applications using ASP. Along the way, you will see correlations between the development process on the iSeries and the same process within an ASP. Once you have learned how easy it is to build ASP applications, you might wonder how you ever got along without them.

Since HTML and ASP work hand-in-hand, this book provides an introduction to HTML and then gets you right into exploring the ASP concept. You will also learn how data access is achieved within an ASP, how to convert an iSeries application into an ASP application, how to use the specific VB Script statements that replace RPG opcodes, and how an interactive application in RPG is converted into an ASP.

You will learn to create a complete, fully functional, ASP "shopping cart" application that reads, writes, and updates data on the iSeries from a Web-based order-entry system. You will examine techniques used to pass data among multiple Web pages within a multi-page ASP application. You will also create an ASP ad-hoc sales-reporting tool that uses data stored on the iSeries and use Microsoft Office Web Components to incorporate charts and spreadsheets into your ASP.

The book also takes a look at the changes Microsoft has implemented with ASP.NET, the next generation of ASP. Not only will you understand the concept of .NET, but you will also learn exactly what is required to convert an ASP application into an ASP.NET application. Get the comprehensive guide that can take you all the way to Active Server Pages development.

When you complete this book, you will know:

• How to create ASP applications
• How to convert interactive RPG applications into ASP applications
• How to convert iSeries applications into ASP applications
• How to convert ASP applications to ASP.NET applications
• How to use the specific VB Script statements that replace RPG opcodes
• How to create a complete-fully functional-ASP "shopping cart" application
• How to use new techniques to pass data among multiple Web pages
• How to create an ASP ad-hoc sales-reporting tool that uses data stored on the iSeries